Seattle Japanese School : Case Study

Seattle Japanese School Improving Internal Communications with IDAS™ Technology

A case study prepared by Icom America Inc. Manufacturers of high-performance, award-winning radios for over 55 years. Seattle Japanese School Improving Internal Communications with IDAS™ Technology

The Seattle Japanese School is a supplementary Japanese school located in Bellevue, , at the Sammamish High School campus. The school has over 600 students, ranging from kindergarten to high school.

A functional communication system on the school’s campus is of the upmost importance. Teachers and staff need to be able to communicate effectively with each other, during any situation. Prior to May 2017, the school’s communication equipment was basic, causing unreliable communication.

Internal Communications Key to Operation At the Seattle Japanese School, effective internal communications is a necessary aspect of the school’s daily operation. The school sits on a large campus, which includes a sports field and a three-story, 323,000 square-foot building. Many areas on campus have little to no cell phone coverage. Featured Products: Since the campus is spread out, security and medical personal, administrators, • IDAS™ F4400DS Series teachers, and even the principal could be anywhere on the campus. The school’s communication plan requires all staff to have immediate communication with each other, at any given time.

Due to the lack of cell service, teachers and staff had been using analog two- way radios to communicate with each other, security personal or emergencies services, if needed. While the analog radios where an improvement over cell phones, there were limitations that prevent the school from obtaining their desired internal communications.

Improving Internal Communications with Icom Solutions

Prior to the spring of 2017, the Seattle Japanese School was using analog, walkie- talkie like radios. These radios proved to be more of a hindrance than a solution. The performance and reliability of the analog radios was poor, as they did not even work across the entire school. The open squelch frequently also became an

2 Seattle Japanese School: Case Study issue, as it allowed all received signals to be heard. The constant noise became a distraction in class, causing students and teachers to lose focus.

The school was introduced to Icom communication solutions in May 2017, and found the F4400 IDAS™ series to be a perfect solution for their needs. Sixteen units of the F4400DS were installed on campus.

What Makes Icom’s Solution Stand Out Icom’s digital two-way radios provided the school the coverage they needed. Now, there are no more communication dead spots. The administration is able to reach anyone, throughout the entire school. This has improved response time to incidents and medical emergencies.

The sound quality has also improved vastly and noise levels have been reduced. As a result there is a more positive and constructive atmosphere within the classrooms.

The group call function was another big selling point for the school, helping to reduce classroom disturbance. Selected groups like security, administration and medical were created to allow the school to effectively communicate with the specific group or individual, without distributing the entire staff. Now, any incident can be quickly reported to the appropriate group to ensure a timely resolution.

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3 Seattle Japanese School: Case Study